


What Should Have Been

by Bam4Me



Series: What Could Be [1]
Category: Border (Manga)
Genre: Fix-It, Found Family, Gen, Kippei calls Yamato 'Mama' because Yamato IS 'Mama', M/M, Um... everyone is happy, WILL IS NOT DEAD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-24
Updated: 2015-11-24
Packaged: 2018-05-03 05:00:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5277626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bam4Me/pseuds/Bam4Me
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Will hadn't died? Well, I know MY version.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Should Have Been

**Author's Note:**

> I am trash, and apparently, Will/Yamato is like, my otp to end all otps, and I'm SO pissed, why did it have to be THIS one????
> 
> Also, I'm also planning a fic where Will comes back from the dead after ten years and Yamato is in shock for most of it, and like, yeah, I'm trash.

A night in the Su’ou/Lafette home-

 

When Yamato heard the front door open, he pulled back from Will’s lips with a sigh. “Can’t, the kids are home and dinner still isn’t ready yet.”

 

Will tried following him with a whine in his throat, “Yamato-“

 

“No.” Yamato smoothly turned in Will’s arms, not giving him the chance to change his mind before going back to cutting veggies on the counter, a good thing, because less than a few seconds later, two grumpy looking, arguing adults came into the kitchen, only for an excitable teenager to push between them and barrel right into Yamato’s side. Will steadied them while Kippei wrapped around Yamato with a sour face.

 

“Mama, make them stop fighting!”

 

Yamato could feel Will snickering into his neck, and reached his free arm back to wack him in the side while Tamaki finally looked up, saw Will wrapped around Yamato and stopped arguing, getting an upset look on his face. “Don’t you _dare_ give me that look, Tamaki, just because I don’t hug you around the clock doesn’t mean I love you less, you know better than that.”

 

Yamato worked around the giant holding him from behind and the teen plastered to his chest, still making dinner, because he was competent like that, unlike Will, who still hasn’t mastered the art of peeling a potato after ten years together, or Tamaki, who couldn’t make ramen. Sou pulled him to sit at the table while they continued their –much more quiet- argument there.

 

Yamato just sighed, making dinner for his useless boys. This is now his life.

 

He can’t help it, he wasn’t even upset, ever day these idiots came home and demanded that he make them dinner and pay them attention, and really, he should be upset about it, but, he’s really not.

 

***

 

It wasn’t until later on that night though, that Yamato realized –not for the first time, though) the drawbacks to having two people that cling to you until you feel suffocated, and another who’s gonna do it as long as everyone else is doing it.

 

See, William had been giving him that _look_. You know the one. One second they’re looking at you, the next, all your clothes are off, and in the last, well, you know… that part.

 

Yamato _really_ likes that look.

 

Yamato is starting to think that Kippei and Tamaki have started recognizing this look too, because, one minute, Yamato was thinking about heading up to the bedroom for an early night in, and, well, the next;

 

“Mama, I want to sleep with you and Will tonight.” Kippei was practically in his lap already, playing with his cell phone, while Tamaki leaned against his other side. Will was still giving him that _look_ while reading on the other side of the room, while Sou fiddled with something. Yamato had the impression that Sou wasn’t even actually doing anything, just in the room so he didn’t have to be alone right now.

 

Yamato looked down, about to ask why, when he felt himself nearly pushed into Kippei when Tamaki pressed fully against his back, stating in the most _petulant_ voice, “If Kii-kun gets to sleep with you, so do _I_!”

 

Yamato sighed, catching Kippei sticking his tongue out at Tamaki over Yamato’s shoulder. “Will you both shut up, I’m not favoring _either_ of you, so stop fighting!”

 

Kippei let out a sad whine, like he’d been told ‘no more sweets.’ “But, Yamato!”

 

“But nothing, you’re nearly an adult, you can sleep in your own bed.”

 

Kippei’s whine got higher, and he was reduced to holding Yamato even closer while Tamaki pouted into Yamato’s neck. Will was no longer giving him the _look_ , but simply snickering behind his book now, and Yamato just sighed, “Fine. Sleep over, tonight.”

 

Kippei and Tamaki cheered in his ears while Sou looked amused, making Yamato know that he should plan for three extras, not just two.

 

As was the usual.

 

***

 

Yamato woke up halfway through the night when he felt an odd squirm next to him, glaring at Will, who was looking at him sheepishly. “What’s wrong.”

 

Will sighed, squirming again. “Have to pee.”

 

Yamato raised a lazy eyebrow, still half asleep, “Then go.”

 

Will sighed again, lifting the blanket just enough for Yamato to see Kippei, firmly wrapped around Will’s stomach like he was afraid he was gonna disappear. Yamato grinned. His boy was the cutest. He sighed, “Nothing for it. Hand him over and go.”

 

Will nodded, waiting for Yamato to get on his back so he could maneuver Kippei into his arms. Tamaki gave a small whine at the removal of Yamato from his arms, but didn’t wake up, just shifting back into Sou while Yamato and Kippei resettled. They were at least used to this sort of thing.

 

***

 

Ten years was a long time, and much longer than Yamato had expected to be with Will, especially after the accident, but that didn’t mean he didn’t thank god, every day, for the time they’d been together.

 

***

 

Ten Years Before-

 

The first thing that Will saw after opening his eyes, was blinding light. The first thing he heard, was beeping.

 

He groaned- no wait, he _tried_ to groan, but nothing really came out. His throat felt sore and stretched around something…

 

“Fuck, he’s awake. Someone get the nurse!”

 

Cougar-

 

“Christ, wait, someone get Yamato-“

 

Will tried to open his eyes again at the voice. Now, _that_ was something worth seeing, right?

 

He didn’t quite make it that far though, not when his eyes slipped shut again before he even heard his voice.

 

When Will woke up for good this time, it was less bright in the room. The lights seemed to be on very dim, right now. There was nothing hurting his throat. Well, it still hurt, but, nothing actively hurting it. He let out a groan for real this time, regretting it right away when it made his throat flare up in pain.

 

“Will, Will, are you awake?”

 

Will let out a sigh, opening tired eyes so he could see Yamato, who looked like he’d been crying, hovering above him. Will was frozen for a moment, just taking him in.

 

He looked gaunt, like he’d been the one lying in a hospital bed, not the other way around. Will opened his mouth to try and speak, but winced at the dryness. Yamato suddenly lit up, as if remembering something, and grabbed a cup off the side table, helping him drink.

 

When Will was laying back down, still tired, but less in pain, and not feeling like he’d pass out again, he cleared his throat. “What’s happened?”

 

Yamato sat next to him on the edge of the bed, looking tired. “You got shot, in the neck, lost a lot of blood; I thought you were going to die.”

 

Will nodded, “I remember that part. Why am I so tired? I’ve been shot before, I don’t remember being this tired.”

 

Yamato looked unable to talk for a minute before another voice cut in. “You started seizing up, and you might have died, but they put you in a medically induced coma, said you’d be liable to have an aneurism and die if they didn’t. Been about a week and a half since, now.”

 

A week…

 

He looked over, smiling a little when he saw Cougar, giving him a stern look. “…I’m okay now, right?”

 

Cougar nodded, still looking upset, “You’re fine, or, at least, you will be. Nearly scared the team half to death, though.”

 

Will nodded, “Sorry.”

 

He turned back to see Yamato, lower lip between his teeth and looking away, while a few tears welled up in his eyes. “Velvet, don’t cry, I’m fine. I’ll be fine.”

 

Yamato nodded, “I know you will.”

 

“Then don’t cry for me.”

 

Yamato shook his head, looking worse by the second. “I… I’m going back to Japan.”

 

Will attempted sitting up before getting pushed back by Cougar, which, honestly, it felt much better down here. “W-why? Yamato no, really, I’m sorry I-“

 

Yamato cut him off softly, “It’s not you, Will.”

 

Will gave him an unimpressed look, “What, ‘it’s not me, it’s you,’ is that it?”

 

Yamato groaned in frustration, “You _idiot_ , that’s not what I mean!”

 

“Then what is it?”

 

Yamato was quiet for a minute. “I… I got a call the other day… from IBELICE.”

 

“The orphanage you grew up in? Is everything okay?”

 

“I…” Yamato swallowed, looking upset. “I hadn’t called for the time you were in here, and I got a call the other day. Everyone sounded so… worried… but then… Tamaki and Kippei took the phone, and Tamaki was upset, and Kippei wouldn’t stop crying and-“ He stopped, making a choked up noise before continuing, “I realized that I didn’t want to keep stepping into danger every time I go to work, not when I have so much I _actually_ want to live for now. Them… you. And I nearly lost one of those.”

 

Will wasn’t upset anymore, a considerate look on his face. “I’m going with you.”

 

“What?” Yamato looked down at him in shock, and Will just cracked a grin at him, already feeling himself falling asleep again, hoping to hold on for just a little bit more.

 

“If you didn’t want me to at least consider it, you wouldn’t be here, right now, telling me. You’d wait till you were leaving to say anything.”

 

Yamato seemed frozen for another minute, “But, you-“

 

“Can’t argue with me, Velvet, I’m already passing out again. That means I win this argument.”

 

Yamato got a stubborn look of fondness on his face, “Fine, you great oaf. You can come with me, but I doubt you’ll like it there. I’ve constantly got a thousand kids attached to my hips.”

 

Will grinned, eyes closing, “I love kids.”

 

Yamato leaned in, pressing a kiss to Will’s forehead until he heard his breathing even out before pulling back with a sigh.

 

“I always said you to would be what broke this team apart.”

 

Yamato glared at him a little, “Yes, you never approved.”

 

Cougar shook his head, “No, I never said I didn’t approve of you two being together, I just always knew that you two would eventually want something more, if you stayed together. Selfish of me, I know, but I never wanted to mess with a thing that worked.”

 

Yamato wanted to be mad at him still, but he just couldn’t. He rolled his eyes instead, looking away, “Well, he’ll probably take one look at my family and come running back, so, you’ll probably get your way.”

 

Cougar actually smiled, “I highly doubt that.”

 

***

 

Cougar was right though. Will took to the little kids like a fish to water.

 

Or, at least, he didn’t seem to mind the way he had about ten of them, attempting to climb him, and speaking too fast for him to understand, about how big he was. Yamato didn’t blame him, he liked climbing Will, too.

 

Though, Kippei and Tamaki made a beeline for him, and Yamato pulled Kippei onto his hip, blinking in surprise when he realized just how big he was getting, “Kii-chan, you’re growing up, sweetheart!”

 

Kippei frowned at him, one small leg kicking out at nothing, “Don’t wanna do that. Tama-chan is all grown up and he’s awful!”

 

Tamaki looked so offended that Yamato had to hide his face into Kippei’s neck, body shaking with laughter while the two of them started arguing. He felt a nudge and looked over to see Will smiling down at him- no wait, _around_ him, at Kippei. “And who’s this?”

 

Kippei looked over Yamato’s shoulder at Will before ducking down to hide in Yamato’s neck. “This is Kippei. He’s my favorite, because he causes the least amount of trouble.”

 

He heard a whine come from Tamaki and grinned, “And this is Tamaki, he’s _also_ my favorite, because if anyone ever gets anything that he doesn’t, he becomes an insufferable brat.”

 

Tamaki whined again, but accepted this with a shrug, coming forward to wrap around Yamato from behind, glaring at Will. Apparently, _someone_ was getting something that he _wasn’t._

 

Yamato sighed, “Don’t let him glare you into submission, I love him and he _knows_ it, he’s just spiteful that I also love you, too.”

 

Kippei sighed into Yamato’s neck, “I told you, Tama-chan is awful.”

 

Yamato nodded, leaning back into Tamaki so he knew he was just joking, “Yes, he’s very awful.”

 

***

 

Yamato was reminded of his and Will’s first date, the one at the morning market, where they had held hands as they walked, while he held onto Will’s hand and quietly translated for the realtor who was speaking too fast most of the time for Will to understand.

 

“It’s a big house.”

 

Will nodded, “Yeah. Didn’t you want to help your friend, Sougo, out?”

 

Yamato nodded, “But… Will, this place has _three_ spare rooms.”

 

Will nodded. The divorce with Sandra had just gone through, so, of course, like an idiot, the first thing out of his mouth to Yamato was, ‘let’s move in together!’ …which, of course, had lead to way too many serious talks and then the house hunting.

 

Though, house hunting with Yamato was different than it’d been with Sandra. For one, it’s like they were looking for different things than him and Sandra had been.

 

He couldn’t help but smile at that. Sandra had been amazing, but Yamato was who he’d spend the rest of his life with if he could. He looked around the living room of the house again, feeling his cheeks heat up a little. “I, uh… I was thinking, that, I know how much you love your little brothers, and how much all the kids at IBELICE mean to you. I thought, the more space, the better-”

 

Yamato stopped him, a hand on either side of his face, forcing him to look him in the eyes, “Are you saying, you want Tama-chan and Kii-chan to move in with us?”

 

Will swallowed shallowly before nodding, “Yeah. I like them. Why?”

 

Yamato looked away, still shocked, “No one… everyone says that Tama-chan is too… selfish. That he takes up too much of my time, and refuses to let others see me other times-“

 

“I’m not a jealous man. Tamaki is your little brother, from what I know of him, he’s been heavily abused and abandoned, he’s scared that one day, he’s going to look for you and you won’t be there. He _needs_ you, just like I do, even if it’s in a different way.”

 

Yamato huffed a little, “He _thinks_ he needs me in the way you do, though. You’re not jealous about that?”

 

Will shrugged, “Is he going to attempt anything that I should be worried about?”

 

Yamato shook his head, “Not as far as I can tell. He’s been very tame, though I imagine a lot of nights of him and Kippei invading our bed because they both cling like monkeys.”

 

Will smiled, “I think I can more than handle that.”

 

***

 

Of course, it’s not like they all moved in right away. Yamato and Will did with Sougo, but Kippei and Tamaki were still in IBELICE most of the time.

 

When Sougo came home that day, he paused in the doorway to the living room, raising an eyebrow at Will, standing in the middle of the room, with Tamaki over one shoulder, Yamato over the other, and Kippei held in his arms. Will grinned at him even harder while the other’s –except for Kippei, who was giggling like mad in his arms- both grumbled to each other, and raised his phone up, taking a few pictures of the scene for future reference. Also, to send to the sister back to IBELICE, because she was amused by this sort of thing.

 

“What are you four doing?” He asked after he’d stashed his phone again and started taking off his boots. Yamato was wacking Will on his side while Tamaki had the most _impressive_ rant going on, though, Sougo noticed, he wasn’t exactly _complaining_ about anything, or actively trying to get down. Yamato was right, that boy craved physically affection so much.

 

Kippei just bounced in his perch on Will’s forearms, nearly braining himself on Will’s chin. “Tama-chan and Yama-chan didn’t think that he could hold all three of us at the same time, and so he did.”

 

Sougo nodded, “Seems like a good enough reason.”

 

***

 

Yamato never imagined being this happy. Before, he really just was, looking for a place and reason to die.

 

Now, he had his family, a home, and a man he might one day, call his husband. Maybe a dog or two, Will liked animals.

 

Every once in a while, he felt his heart beating a little too fast at it, and not just when Will touched him.

 

It was the little things.

 

Seeing Will and his mother talk to each other, both smiling, while Will usually had a few kids trying to climb him.

 

Seeing the way that Will offered to help out around IBELICE all the time as if he’d rather do nothing more than help watch the kids while the sister was out.

 

Watching Tamaki pull away from Will, red in the face from embarrassment after letting the man hug whatever nerves got into him, away, and willing to let the man do it.

 

Watching Tamaki and Kippei, actually smiling at someone other than him and the other kids, and actually going to him for help.

 

The way he’d wake up sometimes, Kippei and Tamaki, or even Sougo, plastered to his and Will’s sides, like they belonged there. Because, they did.

 

He used to be surprised when he smiled multiple days in a row, like it was a shock to be happy so often, and sometimes he’s still sad anyways and he doesn’t know why, but, it’s like, these stupid, amazing people, had wormed their way into his heart, and filled him up from the inside out, unable to make him stay upset.

 

He wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm NOT adding any more chapters (because, apparently, I have to TELL you idiots that) but it IS gonna be part of a series that I will update whenever the fuck I feel like...
> 
> Come talk to me about these stupid idiots that I love.


End file.
